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From Melting Pot to the Wall of ShameBy Kathy Hare

Not so long
ago America was called the melting pot. Waves of immigrants
flocked to this country seeking a better life, a life with economic
opportunities and personal freedoms not available back in their
homeland. Immigrants quickly discovered that blending into
American society meant learning English and shedding their cultural
traditions.

But immigrants
didn't throw off their old world traditions automatically. They
often lived in large groups, relying on friends and relatives from back
home for emotional and financial support. Often melting into our
society didn't occur until the second generation, when immigrants'
children learned how to adapt in order to take advantage of what this
country had to offer.

I remember
classmates who were embarrassed by their Italian or Portuguese parents.
When their parents came to school functions, kids would nudge them if
they used their native language. "Speak English mom," they
pleaded. One girl in particular was so ashamed of the way her
Portuguese mother dressed that she stole the outfits and dumped them in
the trash. She also apologized profusely to her friends because of
her mother's odd hairstyle and clunky European shoes.

Now "cultural
diversity" is the buzz word, and American children are taught to respect
traditions other than their own. That's not a bad thing; but while
accepting cultural differences sounds like a wonderful concept, applying
it to everyday living is problematic. September 11th proved this point,
when many Americans started questioning why we should respect any
culture that shouts "Death to the infidels," especially when we are the
infidels.

While we know
most followers of Islam do not wish to exterminate non-believers,
Americans would be foolish to tolerate the few who do hold that belief.

But overall
America has opened its doors to people from all corners of the globe,
integrating their food and customs into our society. However, our
neighbors to the south probably think our current immigration policy is
anything but tolerant. Certainly, the 700 mile wall being built
between this country and Mexico shouts, "Mexicans not welcomed!"

Why?
What's the difference? Many U.S. citizens say Mexicans are taking
jobs that belong to them. But this hue and cry has been heard
whenever a large group of immigrants entered the American workforce.
For example, in the late 1800's help wanted signs posted in New York,
Boston, and Philadelphia stated, "Irish need not apply."

According to
the 1910 census, over 900,000 Polish immigrants lived in America.
The majority of them moved to the mid-west, especially to Chicago,
taking jobs in steel mills, factories, and slaughter houses. While
many of these jobs were dangerous and paid low wages, the Polish
population was still subjected to the scorn of non-immigrants who felt
they too were taking jobs away from Americans. The same was true
for Italians, Chinese, Russians, and other waves of immigrants.

Another
prejudice Americans have against Mexican immigrants is that they don't
speak English. This too was true for most immigrants. In
fact, my paternal great-grandmother only spoke German when she arrived
in Philadelphia, and my maternal grandmother spoke Gaelic when she
reached this country in 1922.

While large
groups of immigrants living in enclaves in LA or Miami speak only
Spanish, most of them discover it's necessary to learn English in order
to take advantage of the full economic benefits this country offers.

However, a
study by the Kaiser Foundation explains why Mexican immigrants face
additional prejudice other immigrants never experienced. It's a
geographic fact, the land connection between Mexico and the United
States allows undocumented workers to enter this country freely.
And the study showed few American citizens make any distinction between
legal or illegal Mexican immigrants. Instead, we see the crush of
Mexicans entering the United States as a threat to American workers
while also placing an overwhelming burden on this country's schools and
medical facilities.

There's no
doubt that is true in states such as California, Texas, Florida, New
York, and New Jersey, where large populations of illegal immigrants
often contribute little to support state governments.

Yet who among
us would not flee a county where there is little economic opportunity?
Certainly our ancestors had the moxy to venture into an unknown world in
search of a better life, so that's a trait we should all admire.

But the Bush
administration's policy towards stemming the tide of illegal immigration
is both stupid and embarrassing. The estimated cost to construct
the wall between our two countries is $6 billion.

Perhaps a
three-pronged approach to the problem would work much better.
First, that $6 billion would be better spent on programs to improve
educational and economic opportunities in Mexico, so residents wouldn't
need to flee their homeland. Second, employers who knowingly hire
illegal workers should be fined. Third, deportation laws already
exist, but our government's lack of resolve to prosecute illegal
immigrants has helped to create the financial crisis many states face
today.

However, U.S.
citizens should realize the last two approaches are only stop-gap
measures. Until economic conditions improve in Mexico, we will
never stem the tide of people fleeing to this country.

Regan
described this country as a "Shining city on a hill." Now that
image is tarnished with an ugly wall, a testament to our government's
failure to understand that freedom and economic opportunity should never
be shackled. Instead, we should work diligently to spread both
worldwide.

A wall
wouldn't have stopped our ancestors and it won't stop our neighbors to
the south. So I feel compelled to paraphrase another Regan
statement, "President Bush - tear down that wall!"